courageous. smart. beautiful. fit. healthy. sionate. loving. brave. happy. resp sible. leader. warrior. tou optimistic. kind. selfless. driven. cool. gen bold. hero. strong. imaginative. gen friend. creative. confident. ca honest. trustworthy. forgiving. empat respectful. fair. courageous. smart. be fit. healthy. passionate. loving. bra Rolla High School - 900 Bulldog Run - Rolla, happy. responsible. leade Missouri 65401- Volume 67 - Issue 1 warrior. tough. optimistic. kind. selfles September 11, 2015 - www.rhsecho.com driven. cool. gentle. bold. hero. stron imaginative. erous. fri creativ confid Becoming a caring. honest. trustworthy. forgiving. empat better you respectful. fair. courageous. smart. beautiful. fit The beauty of new beginnings is that you get to healthy. passionate. loving. brave. happy. res start over, set goals, and put the past behind you. As you start this new school sible. leader. warrior. tough. optimis year, make an effort to break bad habits, start kind. selfless. driven. cool. gentle. bold. hero. st good habits, and grow a little with each mistake. imaginative. generous. friend. creative. confid Tweet your new year goal to us @rhsechonews. We’d caring. honest. trustworthy. forgiving. empat love to follow your progress. pgs. 8-12 respectful. fair. courageous. smart. beautiful. fit healthy. passionate. loving. brave. happy. res Meet the new sible. leader. warrior. tough. optimis teachers pg. 14 kind. selfless. driven. cool. gentle. bold. hero. st Bulldog sports imaginative. generous. friend. creative. confid by the caring. honest. trustworthy. forgiving. empat numbers pgs. 18-19 respectful. fair. courageous. smart. beautiful. fit
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In this issue...
RHS Student’s Travels...........................................................................4 Leadership Class poised for another of excellence...............................6 Steps to becoming a better you.............................................................8 Humans of Rolla High School...............................................................9 A Ferguson native on Ferguson............................................................10 New year, new teachers.........................................................................11 Student athlete of the month................................................................12 Educating the first-time voter...............................................................13
Letter from the editor Band (pronounced Beeeand) is currently the big fat monster overtaking my life. But it’s alright, I have fun with band. On band though, it’s not a sport. Stop saying it is. In the olympics, Figure Skating is not considered a sport because the scores are based on judges opinions, like band. I’d be okay with the emo and sexually-active freshmen who chant band is a sport if band was excessively physical, but the thing is, band is hardly physical at all. Sometimes we get sweaty at practices, but the sweatiness is nothing compared to nearly any actual sport in the school. Most days after school, I run for three or four miles. I can say with confidence that one day of running is harder for me than one month of marching band. Guard can be a sport though, that’s cool.
ECHO Magazine Staff ECHO is an open forum for student expression. All letters to the editor must include the writer’s name, signature and class or position. Anonymous letters will not be published. ECHO reserves the right to reject any letters. should be sent to ECHO, Rolla High School, 900 Bulldog Run, Rolla, MO 65401.
Editor In Chief - John Giesey, Managing Editor - Chloe Myers, Copy Editor - Elise Mazzeo, Webmaster - Amanda Steineman Staff Writers - Brynn Profitt, Trustin Dinsdale, Celia Parsons, Emily Roberts, Maria Pommerenke, Adviser - Mary Gillis
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In memory of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001... On that day, Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four American Airlines planes. Two of the planes were used as bombs and flown into the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York. One plane was used as a bomb and flown into the Pentagon in Washinton DC, and a fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers challenged the terrorists and took the plane down. 2,296 people died on that day, and the lives of Americans were changed forever. Let us carry the people whose lives forever changed in our hearts as we live our lives to the fullest.
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Alex Pettijhon: I went to California over the summer and we went to LA, hiked the Grand Canyon, we saw the Hollywood sign, and did a lot of sightseeing.
Sara Brooks Daniel: I went to South Carolina and visited my old friends and went to the beach every single day.
Adelaide Brow: I went to New Jersey and went to Cape May and visited my family.
Vasalisa Shamina: I went to China for three weeks this Summer. I went to the Great Wall, saw the Terracotta Warriors and had a lot of fun.
Mrs. Cantrell: We went to Ocho Rios in Jamaica and we went to Dunns River Falls, snorkeled, went for a horseback ride in the ocean, and then we just hung out on the beach and had a great time.
Alec Falkenhain: I went to hawaii and went to the beach and went snorkeling one day with sea turtles and did some hiking.
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Haley Hagen: I went to London, Switzerland, and Paris and in London we saw Wicked and it was really cool.
Jessica Qui: Over the summer I went to Manhattan and ate a lot of different food
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Summer is a Here’s where summer!
the World in 85 Days time for relaxing and traveling to new places. some RHS students and teachers visted this
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Over the last few years, Leadership has been one of the most prolific groups in the high school. Known for their various events-from the Veterans Assembly and the END IT movement, to Powderpuff football and Cheerleading. The renown of the class is especially notable when one considers that it wasn’t a class four years ago. The growth of the class is in no doubt partially due to its teacher, Jamie Cantrell. Cantrell ensures her Leadership class is the best by pushing them to be that way with class methods that put the power of becoming a better leader in her student’s own hands. “The way my Leadership classes go is on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have ‘class information days’, where we learn about leadership methods and philosophies, or read out of books on approaches to leadership and other resources. Those are book-learning days, essentially. But Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are what we call ‘event days’, and are more hands-on learning days. On these days, every student has an event goal that they must try and fulfill. Some event goals students of RHS might know are the Veterans Assembly, Haunted High and other Leadership sponsored events. With their events, student must also pick a charity to donate any of their profits to. We do keep some money, but that is only to cover future events like the Custodial Staff Dinner or the Special Olympics which don’t make money. The idea to the differing day method is that the students will obtain access to the information of leadership, and then they go apply the information to their events, which doubly reinforces their development as leaders in the school and community,” Cantrell said. On charities, it would be unfair to write about Leadership without mentioning their highlight reel of humanitarian efforts. “In my years of teaching Leadership, we’ve helped Alzheimer’s organizations, the End It Movement, which fights human-trafficking, the American Cancer Society, Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, The Russell House, Breast Cancer Awareness, Team Anita, Special Olympics, and others still,” Cantrell said. Considering all the events taken on by the group last school year, it was certainly a defining one for Leadership. Naturally, they are seeking to continue this trend by introducing more events and keeping many of the successful ones. “We’re still doing our main events: the Blood Drive, the Veterans Assembly, dodgeball and volleyball tournaments. But, some stuff we’re planning, and that’s planning as in thinking about, not
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RHS’s Leadership class poised for another year of excellence. confirming, includes a 3v3 basketball tournament and a soccer tournament too. One thing we want to do is organize a student trivia night, where we have questions dealing with modern culture and things that Rolla students will know and be interested in and we’d let people form teams. We also want to put together a zombie apocalypse themed 5k run,” Cantrell said. This desire to expand is shared by the students currently in Leadership as well. “I’m planning on doing Fine-Arts day at the center which is a yearly thing we’ve been doing in Rolla High School for years. It started out as three art-club booths at the center for the seventh graders. This year I’m planning on nineteen booths focusing on fine arts alone. We’ll have S&T present doing fine-arts engineering classes and we’re also going to have representatives for dancing, drama, and music. My goal is for people to really see the fine-arts for what they are; not just paintings on walls. I want to donate the proceeds to the Ozark Actors Theatre because they are kind of hurting right now, it’s a local business, and we feel like they should be the ones benefitting from the showing of finearts,” senior Mack Campbell, a current Leadership student, said. Despite a heavy workload, it is agreed by many former Leadership students that the life-skills learned and cemented in them due to their work put in in Leadership class make it worth it. “I use the stuff I learned every day. For example, last year they had a person come in and talk to us about what to do at job interviews, acting more professional in different situations, how to talk to people when you’re upset or concerned; tons of things like that. Looking back, it’s really more of a life skills class with things that you’ll be guaranteed to use. That’s what makes it such a great class, because of all the ways it can teach you to improve your own life. It’s not just a class you take and go to so you can pass a test or get a good gpa,” senior Emma Laney, one of last year’s Leadership students and planner of the Dodgeball Tournament, said. This is a common opinion among former Leadership students. “Probably the biggest thing I learned was how to connect with people. There was one lady who came in and told us about what it means to have connections with people. Like, if you have a good and wellknown reputation, it’s easier for employers, teachers, administrators, and everyone to know that you are a good, honest, hard-working and confident person. That you won’t let them down essentially. So, when you meet someone for the first time it’s important to establish those things with them and to ‘connect with them’,” senior Becca Roark, another one of last year’s students and the coordinator the Leadership’s partnership with the Special Olympics, said. It is easy to recognize all the events and work Leadership does, but the self-development of the students who take Leadership is often forgotten or not mentioned. “I do feel like a lot of people only look at us as the people behind some events, and don’t really consider all the stuff we learn or how much work we do to make them happen. They also don’t really realize how much we want to make a difference and raise money for charities we believe in,” junior Morgan Gabriele, current Leadership student, said. “We’re more than Dodgeball tournaments, Veterans Assemblies and Fine-Arts Days; we’re a group dedicated to helping our community through our talents and our abilities, while furthering those talents at the same time,” Campbell added. Students looking to take Leadership need to be aware of the course load it can bring. “You really, and I mean really, have to keep up with everything because if you fall behind your event suffers and that makes you look bad. You know when your event is and you have time to prepare, but if you procrastinate it can be terrible. You’ll also let other people down too. However, if you manage to keep on top of everything and your event comes out smoothly, then you get to know that you did a good job, and all the credit is due to you; you earned it, and that’s a great feeling,” Roark said. Overall, the Leadership class is an excellent program that sponsors many worthwhile charitable organizations, and is poised to continue its standard of excellence for this year, and for years to come. While at the same time, building students who are prepared to change the world.
“Leadership is a group of your peers that are not only trying to make RHS a better place, but the world a better place. The only way we can do that is by changing ourselves first. So, if my Leadership kids go through a transformation on how they can better their world, that’s where it all starts.True leaders change themselves first and through their impact and their example, they can change their school. And if we have a school that does that, who knows, maybe we have a school that can change the world. It starts one person at a time,” Cantrell said.
FUEL Student Ministries @ Greentree Christian Church Youth Group 9th-12th graders Sunday Nights 6:30-8p
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Becoming a
The journey to becoming who you really want to be
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High school is tough, no one has to say that twice. From acne, to trying out for the team, balancing work, relationships, and grades, high school is a very stressful time in a person’s life. With this being said, how is it that individuals can make it better? This question students all over the world have been asking forever. Child Development and Leadership Class teacher, Jamie Cantrell, is a pastor and motivational speaker. Cantrell
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Sometimes kids want to fit in with a certain group or clique so bad that they’ll compromise their standards in order to do that. Knowing that it is ok to be different, to be you, and still get along, [and] still have friends [is important] Cantrell said.
has broken down students’ obstacles into two problems: not knowing how to deal with uncomfortable situations and not knowing who they are. “One of the biggest obstacles [high school students] face is how to handle themselves professionally in uncomfortable situations. [For example] if someone puts something on social media negative about that person, someone steals your boyfriend or girlfriend, talks about you behind your back, or any other conflicts come up between friends and [other] relationships, teenagers don’t always know how to handle themselves professionally, keeping their integrity intact,” Cantrell said. According to Cantrell, teenagers tend to go two extremes in uncomfortable situations; they either become hostile and say something that they would have been better off not saying, or they become passive and ignore it. Cantrell has a way of teaching students certain skills to deal with these situations. “I call it getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. [This means] saying things that need to be said, although they’re uncomfortable to say, [even though] you don’t want to hurt anybody,” Cantrell said. Cantrell suggested that if students, or even people in general, do not learn how to handle these hard situations and get comfortable with being uncomfortable, they can end up saying something they
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regret, or, alternatively, could end up being a doormat for others. Whenever people think of high school, they seem to think about identity, which is the second obstacle Cantrell sees. Finding one’s identity can be difficult, sometimes even problematic. “Sometimes kids want to fit in with a certain group or clique so bad that they’ll compromise their standards in order to do that. Knowing that it is ok to be different, to be you, and still get along, [and] still have friends [is important],” Cantrell said. Over the years Cantrell has noticed that kids who hold themselves to a higher standard are the kids that are looked up to the most. These students’ characteristics may include being friendly to others, not being snobby, and not putting anyone down. “[These students] are able to say, ‘Hey you know what guys? I think going to that party is something I’m not really comfortable with doing, you guys go and have a great time, I’ll meet up with you tomorrow.’ The kids that handle [situations that way] are the kids that everybody looks up to. [Other kids] think they are amazing because they have the courage that they wish they had,” Cantrell said. According to Cantrell, kids can get extremely wrapped up in stereotypes such as country, band member, or athlete. They may even seek identity in other people, such as their friends, boyfriend or girlfriend. Although it is good to belong to things, kids should not define themselves by these stereotypes. “Those things, when the sports end or
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the job ends, when you’re out on your own, when you’re off to college and no one knows who you are:, who are you? Instead [of defining yourself by what you do] define yourself in the traits that you either have or you would like to have,” Cantrell said. Some examples of traits that one should define themselves as could be: caring, compassionate, creative, honest, talented, and many positive others. If people do not know what traits that define them, they can end up having problems with making decisions or overall leading a good life in the future. “If you don’t have a core set of values that you know this is me, this defines me, and no matter where I go these five values define me, then you’re lost,” Cantrell said. Cantrell referred back to a saying that states that ‘if you do not stand for something, then you’ll fall for anything.’ This is true to her when she sees students that have fallen to drug and alcohol abuse, and other serious issues. According to Cantrell, these kids are the ones that are making these poor decisions because they are having serious trouble figuring out who they were made to be. “I believe we were all fearfully and wonderfully made, and we have to find out who we are,” Cantrell said. Part of finding identity may include restarting in general, or completely recreating one’s self. “It is okay to recreate yourself. It is okay to say there are some things about myself I don’t like. It’s okay to change it, but in order to change it, you need to reflect on it; [for example] who you are now and who you want to be, and the change going on in yourself is okay. To Cantrell, it is okay if one has made some bad decisions in the past, has trouble standing up for themselves, is easily angered, or has some bad habits, because that does not make them a terrible person. “It is just a journey, and this is who you are right now, but that is not where you are going to end up, but you are committed to that change process,” Cantrell said. Cantrell says that one should not beat themselves up if they are not where they want to be, however, one should never stop growing and changing. To her, the worst thing a person can do is to accept themselves as they are, instead of working hard to make themselves an even better version of themselves. Cantrell stressed that it is important that people realize that transformations do not happen overnight. Transformations are when one breaks his or her bad habits, or makes a good one. It may take time and some failures to get where one wants to be, but one must never give up on bettering themselves because the results can be amazing. [If you mess up], just say I messed up yesterday so badI could just throw in the towel and give up, or you could say my actions don’t determine who I will be tomorrow. Yesterday is done [and] today I’m going to get up and be that person who I need to be. According to Cantrell, people will get
a lot of flack from their mess ups and peers will call them a hypocrite. However, it happens, and one must remember they are on a journey. “There is no magical answer. It’s just life. You’re going to fall. Just hope that you get back up. Most people fall and they just stay down. The tough ones are the ones who get back up again” Cantrell said.
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There is no denying that everyone goes through a stressful day. Whether it be a bad hair day, a day of a big test, or Everyone has those days where everything seems like it’s going wrong. But what do you do when it gets to the point where you’re just ready to give up? Instead of giving up, Merilee Wilsdorf, Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Psychological Science, and Rolla High School student Sam Wilsdorf’s mother, provides advice on how to recover from a failed attempt. “Failure is probably going to be individualized. for example students say they are failing. Everyone’s failure is personal. They will say they have a ninety-two in the class and this is a failing grade to them, but to another kid it could be an outstanding grade. But I would say generally, it would be having a task at hand and not being able to fulfil it,” Wilsdorf said. It’s hard when you put yourself on the line to try something new and you still fail anyway, but Wilsdorf said, “That it is okay. Anything you’re going to do that is big or huge is probably not going to work out. But on the other hand, it does not necessarily mean you are bad at it. You might just need to work more on it. J.K. Rowling had her books rejected so many times, but she stuck with it and now she’s one of the most popular authors in the world. Sometimes it is good enough to try your best and know you gave it your all.” But if the end result is not what the person wanted, there are things you can do to recover from it. Having a pessimistic attitude will not do anything, but lessen the
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chance of having a successful outcome and eventually life. But what is success? “In the same way as failure, it will be personal, I will be only successful if I make millions, or if I have a relationship. You can’t look at someone else and judge their success,” Wilsdorf explained. Someone can be successful in the business aspect, while others define them themselves successful as a parent, husband, or wife. It really does come down to a personal interpretation of what defines a person as successful. Sometimes all someone needs is change because if they are in a job or activity that they hate, but are too scared to leave, they are successful, but unhappy. “Some people don’t like change, so they don’t because they’re too scared. But there are other people who will love the challenge. But there are the people who will stay in miserable relationships because change is risk and risks are too scary. In the long run, the person who takes the risk, will probably be happier in life, but then again they will have to be willing to take that chance,” Wilsdorf stated. But if a person is lost and has never had to make a new start, Wilsdorf suggested to “get as much information on it as you can, try as best as you can, and learn as much as you can, so you know if you’re missing something and know what to expect.” Clearly, the pressures placed on society by society change with every year, but how much it has has changed is the question. It seems that the generation now going through college and high school have it pretty easy compared to previous generations. People of this generation have more issues accepting failure and moving on “because unfortunately we have come to this attitude where we don’t like people to fail, so we protect you too much. We have so many more options and availabilities, but at the same time we don’t. For example, at The University of Missouri S&T, students who have never gotten an A or B are not used to it. If you have failures throughout life it will be easier to deal with as an adult. But there are always those kids who go through life and their parents shelter them and they don’t really have a resilience,” Wilsdorf said. Since Wilsdorf has already gone through high school and college, she knows the pressures that come with it and how to handle them. “I was scared to go to graduate school because it was challenging. There were a lot of setbacks, but I stuck to it. I over came and lived through it, so I would tell myself I can get through this next obstacle. Continuing grad school and as a result, it gave me the skills to take on new things, gave me the ability, and strength to keep going if I failed because I knew good would eventually come out of it,” Wilsdorf said.
“Failure is probably going to be individualized. for example students say they are failing. Everyone’s failure is personal. They will say they have a ninety-two in the class and this is a failing grade to them, but to another kid it could be an outstanding grade. But I would say generally, it would be having a task at hand and not being able to fulfil it Wilsdorf said.
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Loving Yourself The first step to becoming a better you is self love. Loving yourself is one of the best ways to start when it comes to improving yourself and breaking habits. You have to learn to do something for you before you can do it for someone else. “Yes you can go to self help books but I think first regardless of having the support of other people you have to learn to love yourself and accept yourself first and foremost. Even if other people support you, which is awesome, unless you start to develop a love of yourself and an acceptance of yourself then you can’t get to the best part of yourself. You can’t reach, as they say in humanistic psychology, your full potential of being all that you can be. There are different things you can do like making sure that you’re healthy mentally, and when I say spiritually I don’t mean in a religious sense but just being in tune with your surroundings, being healthy physically from working out to eating right and just loving yourself and making sure that you feel good,” Rolla High School Psychology teacher Gwen Fleming said.
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A large part of self love is setting goals that you want to achieve for you and for you only. if you’re doing something for someone else and not for yourself then you won’t have the same drive to do it and the way you view yourself afterward won’t be the same. “Decide what makes you happy and learn to set goals looking at your academic and professional future and then take steps towards reaching them. Some of it is training yourself to do it and there is a lot of information online and in books that can help people that don’t know how to go about that and they can help them in terms of reaching those goals,” Fleming said. A person won’t be serious about changing themselves until they realize that they’ve had enough and that they want to change themselves. It takes great perseverance and hard work. Loving yourself is a serious step that will give you the drive that you need to keep going on the track of becoming a better you.
Healthy Eating The next step in loving yourself is to treat your body with respect and to give it the nourb y ishment and exercise it needs. According to an article by Kansas State, the World Health Organization stated that at least 80 percent of all heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes, and up to 40 percent of cancer could be prevented if people ate better, engaged in more physical activity and quit using tobacco.
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Lorie Bourne, a Rolla nutritionist and mother of Rolla High School Senior Elliotte Bourne, advises using the plate method, uging “that half your plate should be fruits and vegetables, a fourth should be lean meat, and the last fourth should be whole grains. One serving of dairy each meal is recommended.” As students head off to college, they all fear the Freshman 15. Mrs. Bourne gives tips on how to avoid putting on weight as you enter college. “Remain active. A lot of kids play sports in high school and not in college, but continue to eat as if they are playing sports. Make good choices when eating. Without your parents monitoring, it is easy to choose pizza everyday or donuts. Choose foods that are good for you: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy, and lean meat.” Bourne said. Along with healthy eating, Bourne reminds us to “get sixty minutes of exercise a day, while adults should get thirty minutes a day for at least five days”. Not only does eating healthy affect your body’s weight, it also affects your mood. “The foods we eat can bring about changes in our brain structure, chemically and physiologically, which can lead to altered behavior. For example, tryptophan, a nonessential amino acid causes more serotonin to be synthesized which tends to improve mood. Tryptophan is found in protein rich foods, but other amino acids are better at passing from the bloodstream into the brain. You can boost levels of tryptophan by eating more carbohydrates which will help eliminate the competition for tryptophan so more enters the brain. It’s important to make smart carbohydrate choices like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables” said Bourne. Everyone’s body is different in the fact that bodies are uniquely shaped and requires a different amount of nutrients. If someone is looking to gain muscle and lose a little weight, Claire Victor, a Rolla High School graduate and personal trainer at The Centre, commented that “[The food you should eat] depends on the person. You base it on body composition, gender, age, goals,etc.” One should not follow any diet per say, but watch what they eat and stay active.
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Humans of Rolla High School: Liana Harrison
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came to America when I was 12 years old. Before then, I lived in an orphanage in China. In the orphanage, it was every person for themselves; looking back it was a harrowing place where I had to learn to survive and fend for myself; I don’t think I’ll ever get over the stuff that went on in there, but I am healing and it gets easier as more time passes. I’d like to add that I don’t think I’d ever be able to move on without Christianity and the healing that Jesus offers for everyone. Really, discovering Jesus and my faith has been the best part of coming
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to America for me. Although, I am to an extent proud of being Chinese; I’m proud of what China is accomplishing as a nation. Now, I’m working on getting my English better; I’m miles ahead of where I was, but I feel like I can still work on some parts. I’m also a section leader in band, as well as a member of FCCLA, S2S, and Spanish club. Since coming to America, I have been very blessed and that God gave me such fortune has made me very thankful.
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After I was born, I was taken to the house 2463 Pontchartrain Drive, Florissant, which is an municipal area of North County St. Louis. This is somewhat-significant because according to Google Maps, that house is 4.9 miles from Ferguson, Missouri; the Cross Country team runs the equivalent of my birth house to one an epicenter of crime, unrest and poverty America. People are often surprised to hear that I was born roughly 4.9 miles from “Ferguson”, which is in quotes because for people who have never been there, it is a codeword for “the ghetto”, or, “An apocalyptic thunderdome where two men enter, one man leaves”, but really, I just think of it like you all probably think of the area surrounding Sirloin Stockade. It’s just part of the area where I grew up; where I played Pokemon; where I would hear an ice cream truck, run inside, grab $1.34 in coins and try and find out where that siren-song of Spongebob’s sugary face in popsicle form goodness was coming from. Last year in about October, my English class went to Florissant Missouri, a municipal district of North County St. Louis, the very same municipal district of North County St. Louis that I am from, to see a mediocre-at-best production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing. The thing that made me happy about it wasn’t the play, but that the play was put on in a Community Center, sort of like a YMCA, with a gym, theater, basketball courts and indoor pool that I happened to go to pool for swimming lessons when I was four. It was cool to see. However, there were some comments by other kids about how we were “in the ghetto” and questions to the teacher such as: “if I feel discriminated against, can I set a QuikTrip on fire?”. It didn’t really bother me, I wouldn’t argue against it being far from “the ghetto”, (although that’s more of the inner-city. Ferguson-Florissant is more of a generally low-income area, but the poverty levels are similar to Rolla’s.) But my main gripe with comments like those to be the heart of all societal conflicts, especially racial in America: More powerful and established groups, such as White people, do not understand how slight racial pretenses in America still exist.
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A new year, a new look New teachers add to the bulldog family
Starting off the 2015-16 school year many new changes coming to the high school. We now have access to Google Chromebooks, My Big Campus is becoming obsolete and replaced with the google program and multiple new teachers were introduced b y Celia Parsons to the building, bringing new Reporter techniques of teaching to their subject of specialty. “I have been really impressed with all the students, how very well everyone has been behaved and how they have been attentive to what’s going on,” Mr. Smith, the new math teacher, said. Dr. Peterson, the new science and Project Lead the Way Biomedical Science program teacher, is a Rolla native and very eager to teach in the same building he graduated from. “I enjoy the subjects that I’m teaching and also being back here. This is where I graduated high school so I enjoy being back home,” Dr. Peterson said. The new math teacher, Mr.Smith, who formerly taught at the Rolla Middle School, is also excited to be back. “I have been really impressed with all the students, how very well everyone has been behaving and how they have been attentive to what’s going on,” Mr. Smith said. The new Latin teacher, Ms. Morris, is a first year teacher and is excited
to start her first full year of teaching at Rolla High School. “I love the staff, the food, my students, they are my number one, and Dr. Pritchett. He is the best boss anyone could ask for”, Ms. Morris said. Ms. Heimbaugh, the new French teacher, has always taught French, but not necessarily to the same age level. “At my other school, I taught fourth graders French. I had to teach French all day and science in French to ten year olds, so it was very different,” Mrs. Heimbaugh said. Like Ms. Heimbaugh, Mr. Smith and Dr. Peterson have taught at different schools before with a different aspect of their subject and student population. “I taught at University City High School in St. Louis, St. Louis Community College, Steelville High school, and at Rolla Middle School. St. Louis City is a little different than say like Steelville, but pretty much the math is the math,” Mr. Smith said. “Last year I taught at Salem High School [and I was] teaching different subjects. Last year I taught Biology, which is an EOC course and I taught dual credit human anatomy and physiology,” Dr. Peterson said. All four of these new Rolla High School teachers are excited for this upcoming school year. “I’m very excited to be here and I look forward to all the fun things were going to be doing this year in my class,” Mr. Smith said. “I am enjoying the opportunity to be apart of Project Lead the Way Biomedical science program. I think it is a wonderful program and I feel lucky and blessed that Dr. Pritchett and the school board decided to choose me to start the program,” Dr.Peterson said.
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EN GARDE! Often one of the first questions asked of students when returning to school is, “What did you do this summer?” Many people (myself included) will say that they spent their summer just hanging out with friends and watching Netflix. However, imagine spending your entire summer in Washington DC, b y E m i l y R o b e r t s learning to play your favorite sport Reporter and being coached by some of the top coaches in the nation. That’s just what senior David Xiao did this summer. “This summer I went to two places for fencing. The first place was in St. Louis at The Fencers Academy of St. Louis and the second place was in Washington DC at the Fencing Sports Academy of Fairfax, Virginia. I was fencing all summer, every day for at least three hours a day. Sometimes it was five hours,” Xiao said. He was coached by Rolando Tucker Leon, the world’s number one ranked men’s foil in senior division from 1995 to 1997, Alexis Machado Cordoves, a world class coach and Guillermo Madrigal Sardninas, the Epee pan american champion in 2010. “All of them worked with me and we made a plan for me to work towards the Junior Olympics. It’s easy to get in, but it’s hard to do well in because all of these people are working toward the Olympics. Junior Olympics is made up of all of the people who are under 20 years old. Junior Olympics is February 12-15, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Junior Olympics is just for the United States so only the people representing the United States as a fencer are allowed to go to the Junior Olympics. There’s the Junior Olympics and the Summer Nationals and those are both what I’m working for. Summer Nationals is when the older fencers and the younger fencers get to fence. Junior Olympics is only the junior and cadet fencers which means that the under 20 and under 16. Summer Nationals is where there are different divisions based on a ranking.” Xiao said. Xiao is ranked E15. The ranking system consists of six letters, ABCDEU, the first five are based on skill and U is considered to be
Senior David Xiao masters the craft of fencing
Xiao with his coach Rolando Tucker Leon “unranked.”
“So Division 1 is where only the fencers ranked ABC fence and then Division 2 is CDEU and Division 3 is DEU. Currently I’m rated E15. So I am allowed to fence in Division 2 and 3, however I have to qualify for that and that’s what I’m working towards,” Xiao said. Xiao is working hard to do well at the Junior Olympics and Summer Nationals, and has made fencing a big priority his senior year. He hopes to continue his fencing career in college. “This season since I’m pretty serious about fencing I go to The Fencers Academy of St. Louis three times a week to fence with Coach Hossam Hassan and Rasha Abdellatif,” Xiao said.
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Isakson has been playing golf since her freshman year. When asked what her favorite part about playing was she answered, “My favorite part about golf is our team, including Coach Nixon. We work hard, but at the same time we’re always messing around, laughing, and just enjoying each other’s company.” She went on to talk about how Coach Nixon was probably the person she looked up to the most, “because he has been through so much in the past year and he doesn’t complain about his problems.” Even though golf doesn’t seem like it is a stressful sport, there is a lot that the player has to put into Grade: Senior it. When asked if golf was a tough sport mentally, Isakson responded, Sport: Golf “Yes, because coaches will give you a list of things to do such as stay down, keep your eye on the ball, and keep your weight on your left side. With all this being hammered into my head, I still have to clear my mind before I take my swing.” There is more than meets the eye with this game because if you mess up, it’s all on you. Isakson does not plan on playing golf on a college team, but she says she definitely wants to continue playing until she is no longer able to get out on the course and swing away.
Briana Isakson
Proudest Moment: “In the very last match of the season we were playing eighteen holes and I did absolutely terrible right up until the last hole. It was a par five and I got a birdie. I had to chip the ball over a pond directly onto the green. In ‘non-golfer’ words, it was my best hole ever.” Sport You Would Do If Not Golf: “Swimming because I hate getting sweaty and you wouldn’t necessarily know if you were getting sweaty while in the pool. Plus swimmers have good “‘bods.’” Other Activities/Clubs Involved In: Historian of NHS, Editor in Chief of Yearbook, Book Club, Stuco, Key Club, Leadership, and Link Crew
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MacCash has been playing soccer since he was three years old. He loves the game because of, “the opportunities it gives you in life. Like the chance to play with your best friends, the joy of victory, and growing as a person and team,” MacCash said. Although it is a fun, competitive sport, there is still a lot of pressure put on a player. During MacCash’s junior year, he suffered from a groin injury and it affected his attitude about what to do. He described it as one of the hardest things he’s had to deal with as an athlete. “After getting injured and having to recover, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play. I had to ask myself if it was even worth it to me anymore. It turns out it was,”MacCash said. When asked what made it worth playing again, MacCash answered, “I owed it to my team after last year because I was hurt. I wanted to go out and give them everything I could.” Although MacCash chose to stay with the sport his senior year, he does not intend playing on the college level. He plans on going to Missouri State University in SpringGrade: Senior field, Missouri. There he wants to get a degree in childhood education and Sport: Soccer be a soccer coach. “Even though I don’t plan on playing in college, I still want to play intramural,” MacCash says. If he could give advice to any future players, he would want to tell them, “Don’t take what you have for granted because you don’t know how long it will last.” MacCash also plans to be involved in pep club and manage the girl’s soccer team.
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Thomas MacCash
Proudest Moment: “The best moment in my high school soccer career was scoring my best goal against Rockbridge last year. That was my first time playing after sitting out for eleven games due to my injury. Jordan Kaden flicked the header on, it came to me so I chested it up in the air, turned a hundred and eighty degrees, and volleyed it with my left foot. It went across the front of the goal and into the bottom right corner,” MacCash said. Who Inspires You? “On the professional scale, definitely Messi. But when I was an upcoming freshman, Aaron Froehlich, Michael Janke, Sven Olberg, and Matt Calvert made me feel welcome. Aaron was the best forward in the state at the time and helped me every day at practice. Michael and Matt were just great guys and great leaders who encouraged me to be a great player. Sven motivated me to do better with every touch on the ball. They all just wanted to help me get better,” MacCash said. Favorite Team Memory: “Hoochie Mama’s after game victories,” MacCash said.
Educating the First-Time Voter
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To every citizen of the United States, it is their civic responsibility to themselves, past experience, and plans for what they will do as presivote in their local, state, and national elections to determine the leaddent. Several months prior to election day, the candidates will appear ership of their country. While there are many educated voters, there on several news shows and speak and will campaign in multiple states are those in the younger generation that do not fully understand how by holding forums. Presidential primary debates will be held until to register and determine their opinion on political issues and who the nominee is chosen, where the top ten candidates and the rest of they side with. the candidates will express their views on the issues and critique each Registering to vote is simple. To register in any county, the citizen other. Voters are able to use these resources as ways to narrow down must go to the county clerk’s office with an I.D. and which kind of candidate they would vote for in the primaries. fill out a registration form. Once the form is procAfter educating themselves on each candidate’s essed and approved they will be eligible to vote in stance on an issue and forming their own opinion any upcoming election. One can vote without eduthrough research, the voter should decide which cating themselves, or they can educate and vote candidates they align with the most. While they with their knowledge. can do this manually and take notes, there are One of the most important things a voter can websites such as factcheck.-org that provides a do other than casting their vote is educating detailed analysis to political events and poliicians 40 million themselves, finding out how they side on the using authoritative reports, studies, 52.7 million statements issues, and who they side with. The most comand other documented facts. There are also sites mon and regular elections are local and statelike isidewith.com that allows the user to answer 12.5 million wide. If the election is about representatives numerous questions with explanations to each or leaders, each candidate will hold speeches issue with multiple options to answer and will and meetings expressing what they will do for the candidates and parties they side 31.1 million determine the area and how they plan to do it; if the elecwith the most and the least. The user is able to tion is over legislation there will be conventionssee how each candidate stands on the issues 64.3 million for both sides of the issue- that will educate the with sources for each answer- compared to their voters on the issue and how they believe the 40.7 million stance. This can be a helpful tool to voters who crowds should vote. The public is recommended are still questioning which candidate they believe to take into account both sides of the argument represents what they want for their country. Once and follow their own political opinions and beliefs the primaries are over nominees for each party combined with facts as they cast their vote. will be chosen and it is up to the voters on the Voting-Eligible Voting-Eligible first Tuesday after the first Monday in November However, many consider the United States Presidential Election to be the most important election to vote for who will be the next president of the R.A.E: R.A.E: that takes place. Every four years, candidates from United States of America. multiple political parties will run ranging from 116.9 million 124.6 million In 2012, the Rising American Electorate Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertar(R.A.E.) consisting of unmarried women, people Not Registered to Vote ians, the Socialist Party, the Green Party, to third of color and youth, did not fully fulfill their civic party candidates. Before the final election, spring responsibility. Out of nearly 117 million people primaries take place where the people’s vote will Registered, But Did Not Vote who were eligible, only around 64 million voted. help the parties decide who will be their nominee. Young voters make up a large percentage of After the nominee for each party is chosen, the voters, and their votes could decide the future for Voted presidential election occurs on the first Tuesday the United States; educating them is important after the first Monday in November. Before the as they rise above the ranks to become the older presidentialelection, it is important to the voter Data from Voter Participation Date Center generation in years to come. Politics may bore to educate themselves on all of the nominees and modern generations. It may frustrate them and at the issues at hand, and figure out who they will make them ask why allow certain peopeople to data.voterparticipation.org cast their vote for. There are multiple ways to lead their country and states, but one of the only discover how a candidate falls on a certain issue. Each candidate has ways to change the county is having the representatives be chosen not their own website in which they list their stances, information about by whoever decided to vote, but the majority of those eligilbe to vote.
Rising American Electorate
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fall senior athletes
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Supporting Seniors at the Opening Pep Assembly
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Players on the Softball Team Photos by Gerald O’Brennan
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